Cousins is prone to emotionally lashing out, and whatever happened Friday between he and Smart was enough to get him benched for the second half of that night's game.

DeMarcus Cousins' new agent has battled with Kings GM Geoff Petrie in the past. (AP Photo)

He now has been held out of games for disciplinary reasons by the Kings at least once in each of his three seasons. He also was suspended by the league last month for confronting Spurs broadcaster Sean Elliott after a game, and on Dec. 12 for hitting Memphis Grizzlies guard OJ Mayo in the groin, which Cousins said he did accidentally.

Cousins also has alienated teammates by yelling at them during games in the locker room, according to the Bee.

"We met with DeMarcus (Saturday) morning and talked to him about it some more," Kings president Geoff Petrie told reporters, according to the Bee. "And we want to try some path going forward where these type of situations don't continue to present themselves."

Petrie and Smart have stood by Cousins (16.6 ppg, 9.5 rpg in 2012-13) but said Friday's situation was a step too far. Cousins himself said that he was "in the wrong" and shouldn't have responded the way he did.

"It's not something that just showed up yesterday, last year or two years ago or five years ago," Petrie said. "But he's our player so we want to work with him to get past this so he can be what everyone sees is possible."

Now, for better or worse, the question becomes whether Sacramento will hold on to the talented big man or explore trades for him, despite his value being at an all-time low.

As reported by USA Today and the Bee, Cousins recently changed agents, going from John Greig to Dan Fegan. Fegan represents Dwight Howard and was a driving force behind the disaster that unfolded in Orlando before the Magic sent Howard to the LA Lakers in the offseason. As noted by SB Nation's Sactown Royalty, Fegan's relationship with Petrie is not good—he represents Kevin Martin, who was traded by Petrie, along with Ricky Rubio; Fegan insisted that Rubio would leave Spain for the Kings during the 2009 Draft and held the young point guard's only workout in Sacramento, but Petrie opted instead to pick Tyreke Evans at No. 4.

Sacramento is 8-17. They play the Trail Blazers on Sunday at home, then head to Portland on Dec. 26.